Indulge in the sweet and fruity flavors of mixed berries and the delightful twist of Barefoot Pink Moscato wine in this homemade jam. Perfect for spreading on toast, pairing with cheese, or gifting to loved ones.
Instructions: Wash and prepare the mixed berries by removing stems and any undesirable parts. Chop the strawberries into smaller pieces if desired. In a large saucepan, combine the mixed berries, granulated sugar, Barefoot Pink Moscato wine, and lemon juice. Stir well to mix. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Once it reaches a rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the berries have softened and the mixture has thickened. If you prefer a thicker consistency, stir in the pectin and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from heat and allow the jam to cool slightly. Transfer the jam into sterilized jars, leaving a small amount of headspace at the top. Seal the jars tightly and process them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes to ensure proper preservation. Let the jars cool completely before storing them in a cool, dark place. Your mixed berry and Pink Moscato jam is ready to enjoy!
Their first New Year's kiss happens on the 3rd of January and only counts because it's their first kiss of the new year. It also counts because Blaine insists on putting party hats on both their heads and counting down from ten loudly and dramatically before leaning in to kiss Kurt firmly on the lips. By the time their lips actually meet, Kurt is smiling too widely to even really do much more than keep his mouth pressed to Blaine's, but it's still their first New Year's kiss (days after the new year officially began), and therefore perfect.
“Next year we'll be a little more on time,” Blaine promises.
Kurt grins. “Hey I'm not the one who had to visit his mysterious brother in LA.”
Blaine laughs. “My brother may be many things,” he says, “but mysterious is certainly not one of them.”
“Hmm.” Kurt pulls him in a little closer with his arms comfortably slung over Blaine's shoulders. “I didn't even know you had a brother until you suddenly had to visit him out of nowhere for the holidays. Almost makes me think you just wanted to get away from me -” He smirks, blinking his eyes innocently at Blaine.
“Quite the opposite,” Blaine assures him, voice soft and eyes warm, so warm on Kurt's. “I couldn't wait to get back to you.”
“Blaine -”
“I completely lost it when they told me we were going to LA for New Year's,” he confesses, smiling as he touches the tips of their noses together. “Threw a temper tantrum like a five-year old. You should have seen it. It was embarrassing.”
“You're such a bad liar,” Kurt tells him, closing his eyes and just basking in the closeness of him, already so familiar. “But thank you for trying to make me feel better about being so thoughtlessly abandoned by my boyfriend on such an important holiday.”
“I actually did tell them that I would have appreciated learning about our travel plans sooner,” Blaine promises.
Kurt breathes out a soft laugh and tips their foreheads together. “Very politely, I assume?”
Blaine slips his arms all the way around Kurt's waist, closes his eyes. “I had to spend hours on a plane with them. What good would it have done to piss them off?”
“You're adorable,” Kurt says, and means it.
“So, you're not mad at me, right?” Blaine asks, sounding hopeful.
“Why would I be mad at you?”
“You're the best boyfriend ever. And I promise you a proper New Year's kiss for next year!”
Kurt feels his heart leap in his chest, body buzzing with happiness at the promise in the simple statement. Next year. Of course they'll get their real New Year's kiss then, because of course they'll still be together. “I'll hold you to that,” he whispers, and leans in for their second kiss that year, on the 3rd of January, in the middle of Kurt's bedroom, both of them wearing silly paper hats and the sound of Kurt's family going about their day in the background.
And it is perfect and it doesn't matter that it's a few days too late. They'll get many more opportunities to do this, after all.
**
(The next year, they do get a real New Year's kiss, just as Blaine had promised. It's a New Directions party and it's sort of a mess but then all their parties usually are. Kurt mostly watches his friends with a certain measure of amusement and lets Blaine talk him into three karaoke duets. When midnight is approaching they slip out of Rachel's basement and onto the front porch, where it's dark enough to be unobserved but light enough to see the cheerful anticipation in each other's eyes.
Kurt checks the clock on the phone in his hand, bites his lip as he slings his arms around Blaine's shoulders, lets Blaine pull him in closer by his waist.
“Twenty seconds,” he says, “Eighteen. Seventeen -”
“Good enough, don't you think?” Blaine asks.
Kurt grins, shaking his head at him. “Patience. We've waited this long. You can hold out a few more seconds.”
Blaine pouts at him and sighs and Kurt nudges their noses together playfully before checking the countdown on his phone. “Okay, he says, hold on – Five -” he starts, quickly slipping the phone into a jacket pocket.
“Four,” Blaine takes up the counting. “Three, two, one -”
Their mouths meet as cheers erupt from the basement and all around the neighborhood, and okay, Kurt thinks, feeling Blaine's lips move against his warm and wet and gentle, there is something to be said about starting off a new year by kissing the person you love. The first thing he's ever done this year is kiss Blaine. He likes that.
Their kiss begins at midnight and lasts until the front door is being flung open and a heap of tipsy New Directioners tumbles out onto the porch, laughing and shoving each other and making way too much noise.
“Theeeere you are,” Sam drawls happily upon spotting them in their corner and Kurt chuckles, lets his forehead drop onto Blaine's shoulder as Blaine sighs, one hand cradling the back of Kurt's neck.
“Berry, I found them,” Santana yells over her shoulder, “They're having sex in the front yard!”
Rachel's voice pipes up from inside the house and more of their friends spill onto the tiny porch, and Kurt hugs his boyfriend tighter and thinks this is definitely the best way ever to start off a new year.)
